Mile News


A love of running helps the author’s father and son cope with illness and unites three generations

June 20, 2016

I remember as a young boy going through the scrapbook he kept as a teenager full of clippings from Roger Bannister running the first sub-4 minute Mile in 1954

By Scott Reid, Orange County Register

My first memory of really running, running with a purpose, is from the early summer of 1968.

I was 8 years old and obsessed with Jim Ryun and the crew of runners chasing him that Olympic season in lemon-colored singlets with “OREGON” in green letters across their chests. Each morning I rode with my Dad, Richard Reid, to the dirt high school track in Stevenson, Wash., population 1,000, the logging and lumber mill town he and I grew up in on the banks of the Columbia River as it cuts through the Cascades, 45 minutes east of Portland.

My Dad, a teacher and counselor, was helping his brother Jim get in shape before he shipped off to Vietnam. So I would follow them around the track for two, three miles. The sprinkler system set up on the ragged football field usually left the inside lanes soaked even on the hottest days, and the soles of my Dad’s adidas Italias left a distinct trail all around the track. I followed my father’s path through each lap but, try as I might, could never quite land squarely in his footsteps.

It would be something of the story of my life.

Continue reading at: www.ocregister.com

Tags: scott reid (1)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!